


Skipping Steps

by surlybobbies



Series: Tumblr Quick Fics [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Firefighter Dean, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, etc etc - Freeform, he doesn't do much firefighting here tho bc dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/surlybobbies/pseuds/surlybobbies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Getting the call almost brings him to his knees.  Looking back, he’ll have no idea how he even got suited up - probably with Benny’s help - and will have no memory of the ride to the Novak residence.  All he’ll remember is standing paralyzed in front of Cas’s house and watching flames lick at the curtains in the living room, thinking, <i>Oh, God, I never told him.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Skipping Steps

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt fill on tumblr, but I changed it a little - sorry to the anon who requested it. Also - unrealistic portrayals of actual fire dept. practices mostly because I was too lazy to look things up.
> 
> On another note - Why can’t I keep my fic short???? I swear I didn’t mean to write so much.

Getting the call almost brings him to his knees. Looking back, he’ll have no idea how he even got suited up - probably with Benny’s help - and will have no memory of the ride to the Novak residence. All he’ll remember is standing paralyzed in front of Cas’s house and watching flames lick at the curtains in the living room, thinking, _Oh, God, I never told him._

They don’t let him go in - “You’re not thinking straight right now, brother - stay put” - but it still feels like he’s suffocating, like he’s right there in the house with Cas, breathing his last, because what use is going on without Cas anyhow, _Oh, God, I never told him._

But then Benny’s shouldering his way through Cas’s crumbling doorway, Cas’s limp form in his arms, and Dean feels lightheaded with relief. He jogs to Benny, who’s laying Cas on a gurney.

“Cas,” Dean breathes, grabbing his friend’s hand. 

Cas blinks, dazed. “Dean…?” he says, sounding confused.

The paramedic clicks her tongue. “I have to see to him, sir.”

Dean nods at her once, hurriedly, then turns his attention back to Cas. He squeezes his hand and says breathlessly, “I’m in love with you, Cas. Marry me.” He didn’t mean to propose, but well, there it is - the product of five long years of yearning for his best friend.

Cas blinks again, slowly, his mouth working with some difficulty, then says, of all things, “Balthazar.”

Dean blinks. Huh? “Bal - the cat?”

The paramedic, probably wanting to end Dean’s embarrassment, pushes an oxygen mask over Cas’s nose and mouth.

Cas’s eyes are closing over the mask. Dean lets his hand go as the paramedic wheels him away. He looks at Cas’s house, knowing that Cas’s rescue kitten is somewhere in there. The fire’s been contained, and he’s just been rejected. He thinks, Fuck it. I told him. And I love him. And he loves that stupid cat.

And he straps on his helmet.

 

Good news is that he found Balthazar and that the kitten was given the all-clear by the vet to tear up Dean’s apartment.

Bad news is Dean’s put on probation - or at least, he thinks so. Bobby didn’t actually say the words “on probation” in between the swearing and the lecturing and the _you call yourself a professional get out of my face you damned self-sacrificing bunghole and take that goddamn cat with you._

It was as good a dismissal as any, so Dean took the rest of the day off. He visits Cas in the afternoon, who’s being kept in the hospital for observation.

He brings a small bouquet of red roses - sure, he was rejected, but that doesn’t change jackshit about Dean’s feelings - and at this point, what does he have to lose?

Cas’s door is open, and Dean leans against the frame, just watching, his heart aching. His best friend is frowning at a large floral arrangement on a table near his bed. He’s got a few scratches on his face, but there’s a healthy color high in his cheeks - one that increases when he turns his head and catches sight of Dean.

“Hey,” Dean says, when Cas’s mouth opens. “Before you say anything - Balthazar is fine. He’s at my place, chewing on - everything.”

Cas nods, licking his lips. His eyes drop to the flowers in Dean’s hands.

Dean feels himself reddening. “Uh, yeah, these are for you,” he says, walking closer to the bed and offering them, one-handed, to Cas. “They’re not - y’know, they - they’re not that - “ he nods to the flowers on the table - “but I hope you like them anyway.”

Cas takes them, a smile spreading on his face. “Red roses, Dean? Really?”

Dean ducks his head, embarrassed. “Yeah, man, I - “

Cas interrupts what would probably become a long and mortifying speech with a hand to Dean’s arm. “I love them, Dean. Thank you.”

Swallowing, Dean nods. He takes a seat in the chair near the bed and takes a deep breath, staring at the tiled floor. “Listen, Cas, what I said before - I just wanted you to know that it’s okay if you want to pretend it didn’t happen. I’ll always be your best friend, even if - you know. Even if you don’t return the sentiment.”

Cas is silent for a long time. When Dean looks up, Cas’s eyebrows are furrowed as he stares at Dean. “What sentiment? What did you say?”

Dean stares. He gestures at the bouquet in Cas’s arms. “What do you think the roses are for, dude? The red roses?”

Cas’s expression changes all of a sudden. His eyes grow wide. He clutches the roses tighter to his body. “When you - that wasn’t - that wasn’t a dream?”

Dean drops his face into his hands. “Oh, my God,” he groans. The embarrassment of his impromptu proposal is tripled now as the sentiment is repeated in the clean, calm hospital air, where Cas is apparently sincerely processing it for the first time. “It wasn’t a dream, Cas,” he says into his palms. “Though right now, I’m sorta wishing it were.”

“You - said you were in love with me,” Cas says softly, slowly, from his bed. “And you proposed to me.” 

Dean moans in mortification, squeezing his eyes shut tightly behind his hands.

“Did you mean it?” Cas asks tentatively, after a long, long silence.

“I don’t just propose to random people we save from fires, Cas,” Dean says, though there’s no venom behind it. “And I don’t walk into burning buildings for just anybody’s kitten. Of course I meant it.”

There’s a shuddering breath from the bed, and Dean looks up in alarm - only to meet the eyes of a slightly teary Castiel. “Then yes,” he murmurs, voice breaking. “I’ll marry you.”

Dean stares. “You - you will?”

Cas nods, laughing. “Tomorrow, if you want,” he says. “Right now, even.”

Dean gets up, then sits down, then gets up again. “You’re serious,” he says, finally settling near Cas’s hip. “You’ll marry me.”

Cas lifts a hand to Dean’s jaw, smiling. “I love you. I will.”

“Holy shit,” Dean breathes, before leaning down and pressing his forehead to Cas’s. “Holy shit.” He presses a kiss to Cas’s lips, but has to stop when Cas starts to smile again. 

“Do you think we skipped a few steps in between?” Cas asks, his nose wrinkling in amusement.

Dean kisses him again and again, wanting it more and more now that he’s allowed to want it. “I don’t give a damn,” he says, his hand on Cas’s waist. “We’re getting married as soon as we can manage.”

“And our honeymoon? You’ll have to apply for leave.”

“Not a problem - I’m on probation for the foreseeable future.”

Cas draws back from Dean’s lips. “What?” he asks, looking concerned.

Dean shrugs, not finding it in him to care. “I may have walked into a burning building to look for a cat. Without telling anyone.”

“Dean…”

“Shh,” Dean says, kissing him again. “Just think about it as fewer people we have to invite to the wedding.”


End file.
